Freshly sharpened pencils, a backpack of new school supplies, and that first day of school outfit all picked out. It can only mean one thing - back to school is here!
As a play therapist you know that kids either LOVE it or HATE it! And for the kids that love it - it’s easy peasy! The transition is as smooth as butter.
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Anxiety can get out of control pretty fast. Kind of like weeds in the garden that seem to grow 5 feet tall in one afternoon. And just like weeds they can shade out and suck the nutrients for the good things that we are trying to grow.
One thing you will hear nearly every session in my therapy office?
Laughter. And that says a lot coming from a therapist that works with high levels of trauma, attachment difficulties, and significant dysregulation. 
As a therapist you likely focus on regulation skills with the parents and families you work with. Emotional regulation can be broken down into two categories: co-regulation (someone outside of ourselves is supporting regulation) or self-regulation (the regulation mechanisms we use by ourselves or on our own).
When you think of warning signs to meltdowns what comes up for you?
Irritable mood, arguing, agitation, increased heart rate, glaring, whining, difficulty with concentration, and difficulty following through with expected tasks are a couple of the popular ones that come in my office. 
What if… hear me out… we could inadvertently be giving kids and teens the message that some feelings are “bad” and other feelings are “good”. As in, if you are calm that equals good and if you are sad, mad, frustrated, embarrassed, anxious, stressed, or one of the other dysregulated feelings it equals bad.
AND we can often (unintentionally) give that message when the focus of therapy exclusively becomes on regulation and calm. 
One of the most important case conceptualization questions I ask for kids with dysregulation (and let’s be honest - nearly every diagnosis deals with regulation in some capacity) is “does this child have a trauma history?”
Want to know more about how trauma affects emotional dysregulation check out Part 1 and Part 2 in my series about what every therapist should know about how trauma affects emotional regulation. 
There are 1.4 million reasons and counting that trigger dysregulation.
Sometimes there are patterns where we can see there is one issue or situation that is really difficult for a child, that may or may not be related to trauma. Other times the level of overwhelm and dysregulation is so chronically high that one tiny thing can send a child’s nervous system over the edge. 
How many sessions “should” a child need in play therapy?
The only correct answer to that question is “it depends”. According to research HERE it takes an “average of 20 play therapy sessions to resolve the problems of the typical child referred for treatment”. 
Sharing play themes with parents can be an important part of Child Centered Play Therapy. Check out more HERE about four reasons to consider sharing play themes with parents!
So while this blog HERE answers the WHY we share play themes with parents and caregivers I wanted to give you some step by step guidance with the HOW! |
Hi, there!I'm Ann Meehan, an LPCC, 
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[email protected] | Copyright Meehan Mental Health Services 2025